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The Air Force has selected McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Knoxville, Tennessee, to be the Guard’s third main operating base for the service’s new refueling aircraft.
Officials said in a Nov. 19 press release that McGhee Tyson is their “preferred location” for eight KC-46A Pegasus tankers pending the outcome of an environmental impact analysis anticipated “not later than 2027.”
New tankers would begin arriving at the base to replace the 134th Air Refueling Wing’s eight aging KC-135 Stratotankers in 2031.
The KC-135 has been in Air Force service since 1957. Boeing delivered the last KC-135 to the Air Force in 1965. The company also manufactures the new tanker.
Only one Guard unit currently owns KC-46As — New Hampshire’s 157th Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It has been home to the new tanker since 2019.
The Guard will gain its second KC-46A main operating base in 2029 when the first of 12 new tankers arrives at the Michigan Air Guard’s 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit to replace its old KC-135s.
The KC-46A is a dynamic upgrade over the KC-135, according to the Air Force.
It offers capabilities such as boom and drogue refueling on the same sortie, worldwide navigation and communication, cargo capacity on the entire main deck floor, receiver air refueling, improved force protection and multipoint air refueling capability.
“This is a transformational moment for our Airmen, our wing and our state,” said Col. Ronald Selvidge, the commander of the 134th Air Refueling Wing in a Tennessee Guard press release.
“The KC-46 will significantly expand our operational reach and ensure we remain a critical enabler of global mobility and combat power projection for decades to come,” he added.
The Tennessee Congressional Delegation was equally effusive.
“Designating McGhee Tyson as a main operating base for the KC-46 Pegasus will strengthen our national security by providing rapid access to key operational areas at home and abroad while supporting jobs for Tennesseans,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in a statement.
Transitioning to the KC-46 will occur in phases, with multiple construction and training milestones, according to the Tennessee Guard release. The 134th will work closely with Air Mobility Command and the National Guard Bureau to ensure a smooth and successful conversion, officials said.
McGhee Tyson beat out six other Air Guard installations to become the Air Force’s preferred location for its seventh (active, Guard and Reserve) KC-46A main operating base.
The decision leaves 14 Air Guard refueling wings with aging KC-135s and no planned replacement aircraft.
The Air Force plans to keep the KC-135 in operation until at least 2050, a timeline that would push its service life to nearly 100 years.
Officials announced plans in July to buy an additional 75 KC-46s on top of its original plan of 179, rather than hold another competition for a KC-135 recapitalization program.
─By John Goheen
